Chara
Chara (typically /ˈkæ.ɹʌ/ or /ˈtʃɑː.ɹʌ/), also known as the First Human or the Fallen Human, is the first human to ever fall past the Barrier on Mount Ebott into the Underground. This is the human that the player names at the start of the game, and not the controllable character who is played throughout the entirety of Undertale. Profile Appearance Chara is said to have looked incredibly similar to Frisk, down to a "similar fashion sense," and just like Frisk, has an ambiguous gender. Both appear to have been around the same age after falling into the Underground. Chara's SOUL is also the same color as the protagonist's. At the end of the Genocide Route, Chara is seen to be wearing a lime and cream colored striped shirt, brown pants, and shoes. Compared to Frisk, Chara is of a lighter skin and hair color, with rosy cheeks, open eyes, and a vacant smile that displays an unusually sunny disposition in contrast to Frisk's constant stoic expression. Personality While initially cast in a sympathetic light, Asriel admits at the end of the True Pacifist Route that Chara was not the greatest person. Asriel says that Chara climbed Mt. Ebott because of unhappiness and a strong hatred of humanity. Chara never told Asriel the reason for this. Asriel also mentions that Chara "laughed it off" when the two of them accidentally poisoned Asgore by putting buttercups instead of cups of butter into a butterscotch pie they made for him. After dying, Chara takes control of Asriel's body to carry the corpse to a nearby human village, according to Asriel. He recalls that when the humans attacked him after arriving in the village, Chara wanted to use Asriel's full power to kill them all and break the barrier. At the end of the Genocide Route, Chara behaves in a cold, deliberate, and even malevolent fashion through both actions and speech, despite any outward semblance of youth and innocence. At the end of the Genocide Route, it is revealed that the protagonist's Determination awoke Chara as soon as the protagonist entered the Underground. Main Story After falling into the Underground, Chara was taken in by Toriel and Asgore as a second child and was treated with respect equal to their biological son, Asriel. Chara and Asriel became best friends. Monsters spoke of how Chara filled the Underground with hope. One day, after becoming terminally ill, Chara expressed the desire to see the Golden Flowers found in their home village. After their death, Chara's SOUL was absorbed by Asriel, who carried Chara's corpse across the barrier into the human village. Upon arrival, he was attacked by its inhabitants, as the humans mistakenly thought Asriel killed Chara. This is later revealed to be part of Chara's plan for them and Asriel to collect six more human SOULs to destroy the barrier. Though Chara's motives were unclear, Asriel mentions that when he left the villagers in peace despite their violence towards him, Chara resisted Asriel's control out of a desire to destroy the villagers. Chara's body was originally laid to rest in a coffin in the basement of the castle, where the bodies of the other fallen humans would later be put. Toriel later carried Chara's body to the Ruins to give it a proper burial. In the Genocide Route, the protagonist's determination awakens Chara. It is speculated, and there is evidence, that the narration provided for inspecting certain things in the game, as well as descriptions for certain actions in the game, are narrated by Chara themself. Neutral Route When the player gets a Game Over, Asgore's voice can be heard, urging them to "stay determined." The messages heard at this point are identical to those Asgore said to Chara while sick and bedridden. The protagonist may also hear Chara's name in their dreams. At a certain point in the story, if the protagonist sleeps in Toriel's home, Asgore's voice can be heard, pleading ", please... Wake up! You are the future of humans and monsters." When the protagonist first falls into the Garbage Dump, Asriel's voice can be heard talking to Chara as well. True Pacifist Route In the True Lab, VHS tapes of Chara interacting with their family can be played back. Towards the end of the fight against Asriel, when the protagonist calls Asriel's name to save him, flashbacks of Chara play, showing Chara's fall into the Underground, Asriel's discovery of Chara, and the royal family spending time with Chara. After the fight, Asriel finally recognizes the protagonist as Frisk. During the epilogue, Frisk may return to the room containing the coffins of the other humans. This leads to the discovery that Chara's coffin is empty, and that there are mummy wrappings at the coffin's bottom. Genocide Route While traversing the Genocide Route, many characters comment on the protagonist's cold attitude and fail to even recognize the protagonist as human. When going through New Home, Flowey seems to mistake the protagonist for Chara. However, Flowey's observation is proven to be true as Chara takes more and more control over the protagonist, even controlling the protagonist's expression (as seen in Flowey nervously demanding Chara to "stop making that creepy face"). Chara also seems to be in control of the protagonist's scripted sequences, as they either ignore or act and kill other characters without the player's input. The first example of this occurs when the protagonist attempts to skip through Papyrus's puzzles; the last is when the protagonist mercilessly destroys Flowey before Chara makes their appearance. The only instance in the game where Chara makes an in-person physical appearance is at the end of the Genocide Route. After completing the route for the first time, Chara unexpectedly appears and addresses the player directly, instead of the protagonist. After this appearance, Chara reveals that the protagonist's power and determination were the cause of their reincarnation, and that, judging by the player's guidance, the purpose of this reincarnation was power itself. Shaped by the player's display of careless murder, Chara states they are the embodiment of the feeling the player receives whenever the player's stats increase, and propose that the player erases the world so they can move on to the next. The player is given the choices to "ERASE" the world, or "DO NOT". * If the player chooses to "ERASE", Chara will call the player "a great partner." * If the player chooses "DO NOT", Chara's eyes widen, and tells the player that they were never in control. Afterward a disturbing jump scare will occur, in which Chara approaches the screen with a horrifying laugh. The screen shakes while a loud droning sound loops in the background. After the player makes their choice, an attack animation occurs, followed by red "9"s covering the screen. If the game is in windowed mode, the window will shake similar to the death animation of a monster before the game crashes. Upon reopening the game, the entire screen is black and only accompanied by a sound similar to howling wind. After 10 minutes, Chara will speak to the player, sensing that they want to go back to the game's world, and reminding them that the player's actions caused its destruction. After asking the player if they think they are above consequences, Chara offers to restore the world in exchange for something, later revealed to be the protagonist's SOUL. Agreeing to this trade will restore the world, but will permanently affect the True Pacifist ending. Refusing will cause Chara to abandon the player, only to offer the same choice again after another 10 minutes. Post-Genocide Game True Pacifist Route Chara appears briefly after the True Pacifist Ending Credits if a Genocide run has been completed beforehand. If the protagonist chose to stay with Toriel, the after-credits scene continues briefly after Toriel closes the door, showing Chara in place of Frisk turning to face the screen with red eyes. The game cuts to black, with laughter similar to Flowey's, but slowed down and lower-pitched. Similarly, if the protagonist decides to have "places to go," the photograph after the credits will have the face of everyone crossed out in red, except for Chara, who replaces Frisk. The "THE END" text is red, and a slowed down version of Anticipation plays. The Annoying Dog does not appear to sleep under the ending screen. Genocide Route After completing a Genocide Route a second time, Chara takes on the description of "the demon that comes when people call its name." Chara says that the reason the player continues to recreate and destroy the world is an incomprehensible "perverted sentimentality," before suggesting that the player takes a different path if they choose to create the world again. Chara gives the player the "choice" to erase the world again. * If the player chooses "ERASE", Chara will once again call the player "a great partner," saying they will be together forever. * Choosing "DO NOT" will have Chara tell the player that these very twisted feelings were exactly what they were just talking about. Chara then reminds the player they sold their SOUL a long time ago, causing another jump scare, as the world is destroyed again. Relationships Asriel After falling into the underground, Chara is found by Asriel and returned to his parents; Toriel and Asgore. The two of them grew together as siblings and best friends. Flowey Flowey perceives Chara as his partner and best friend despite his inability to love. Seeing Chara as a creature akin to him, he helps by clearing all obstacles in the way. He says that Chara would never give him any "worthless pity" and is the only one who understands him. Protagonist The protagonist only learns about Chara if a Genocide Route is completed. As the protagonist kills monsters and gains more EXP, Chara seems to grow stronger. Chara refers to the player as a "partner" if the player accepts Chara's offer to erase the world. If the player is to complete a Genocide Route a second time, Chara questions why they continuously recreate and destroy the world. Chara then goes on to say that the Player has a "perverted sentimentality" that drives this odd behavior. This behavior is most likely game players' urge to find each and every single bit of information about a game, no matter what it takes, which includes traversing a Genocide Route, even multiple times. Toriel When Chara fell into the Underground, Toriel took on the role of Chara's mother. She cared for Chara very much, equally as much as Asriel. Asgore Similarly to Toriel, Asgore acted as much of a father to Chara as he did to Asriel. It can be speculated that Asgore's "Mr. Dad Guy" sweater was made by Chara, due to the text that appears when checking it while in New Home during a Genocide Route. Chara In-Game In several moments throughout the Genocide Route, Chara temporarily disables the player's input and takes direct control of the protagonist. * The first instance of this is during the first encounter and puzzle with Papyrus, where the protagonist seems to ignore Papyrus and moves forward independently. * The next instance of this is before the battle with Undyne the Undying, where protagonist turns away, and then approaches Monster Kid aggressively. ** Another instance of this is during the two encounters with Mettaton, who notices the protagonist's eagerness to fight him. ** The penultimate instance of this occurs just before the Sans encounter, as the protagonist moves forward to provoke Sans into fighting. The protagonist also deals the killing blow to Sans without any input from the player. * The last instance of this is in the Throne Room, where without any input from the player, Chara slays both Asgore and Flowey without hesitation. Furthermore, the text that the player sees changes depending on Chara's voice and thoughts. These narrations are sometimes, but not always, red in color (A list of them can be found on the Genocide Route page). Chara's perception of various objects also changes depending on the route, most notably the Heart Locket and Worn Dagger, which Chara narrates as being simply "The Locket" and "Real Knife" in the Genocide Route. It is also possible that Chara was closer to Toriel and Asriel was closer to Asgore, as both Chara and Toriel start their dialogue with "Greetings," while Asgore and Asriel both start their dialogue with "Howdy." Dialogue Trivia * "Chara" is likely short for "Character," but there are speculations of its greater significance. For example, The word "Chara" (χαρά) in Greek means "joy," "delight", or "gladness". "Friend" translated from English into Irish is "Cara." * When attempting to name the fallen child "Chara", the response becomes "The true name". Removing the name from a save file results in the name "Chara" being given by default. The child being "fallen" can refer both to the child having fallen into the Underground, or to the phrase "to fall from grace" (to become morally corrupt). It is also a word used to describe someone who has died. * Toby Fox suggests naming the Fallen Child the player's own name."Some people say "What am I supposed to name the fallen child?" Your own name." - Toby Fox. September 15, 2015. Twitter. But only if the player cannot think of anything else."I mean, if you can't think of anything else lol" - Toby Fox. September 15, 2015. Twitter. Naming them after your cat has also been deemed acceptable.@mayakern: what if i named them after my cat @tobyfox: that workshttps://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/643945850658533376 All of this is probably meant to imply that any name is fine. * Chara is implied to like chocolate; should the protagonist check the refrigerator in Asgore's Home, the text reads "No chocolate.". ** While there is no chocolate in Asgore's home, there is a bar of chocolate in the fridge at Toriel's Home; it is possible Toriel kept it in her fridge in memory of Chara's tastes. * The Heart Locket may belong to Chara as the text "right where it belongs" is shown when the protagonist equips it in the Genocide Route. * Within the game files, there are sprites of Chara with their yellow-and-green shirt and pants, lacking a face but having shading under the eyes. In debug mode it is possible to have these sprites appear as the protagonist's reflection in puddles and mirrors; it has been speculated that this was going to be normal in a post-genocide run. * The music as Chara introduces themselves to the player on a Genocide Route has been dubbed by fans as "The Fallen Child" and "CHARA". The filename for this music is "mus_zzz_c", with the jump scare music named "mus_zzz_c2". * Both Chara and Sans tell the player a similar line. Sans tells the player at the end of his boss battle, "There is nothing left for you here.", and Chara tells the player at the end of the Genocide Run, ''"There is nothing left for us here." ''This is most likely an attempt to convince the player to quit playing the game or is likely the game judging the player further for their genocide run. References de:Chara es:Chara pl:Chara ru:Чара zh:Chara ja:Chara fr:Chara Category:Main characters